Page 10 - An Illusion of Complicity: Terrorism and the Illegal Ivory Trade in East Africa

Tom Maguire and Cathy Haenlein ix

Executive Summary

THE ILLEGAL IVORY trade is no longer purely a conservation issue. As the trade has surged
over the last ten years, a range of actors have profited, decimating wildlife, destabilising
communities and threatening national, regional and international security. A number of myths
and misperceptions have grown alongside the illegal ivory trade – none more troubling than the
alleged participation of terrorist groups. In East Africa, the Somali terror group Al-Shabaab has
supposedly received up to 40 per cent of its running costs through the illegal ivory trade alone.

This is a powerful narrative, espoused by some politicians, policy-makers and practitioners. But
it is largely wrong. Evidence for Al-Shabaab involvement in poaching and trafficking remains
extremely limited and controversial. Briefings given to policy-makers on terrorism and the
illegal ivory trade continue to refer to unverified sources. This is a cause for concern: such
a narrative risks diverting attention from the trade’s main facilitators and, counter-intuitively,
from Al-Shabaab’s known funding sources.

To address these misconceptions, this report explores the complex ecosystems of terrorism,
poaching and ivory trafficking in East Africa. Its key findings are that:

• Highly networked organised crime groups (OCGs), brokers and corrupt government
officials continue to drive the illegal ivory trade across East Africa. Weak legislation and
enforcement by security agencies provides a benign environment for their activities

• The OCGs, brokers and corrupt officials involved – and the routes and methods used
– likely overlap with other forms of organised crime (such as the trafficking of drugs,
humans and small arms)

• The majority of ivory that transits East Africa comes from source areas on the
Tanzania-Mozambique border and in central Tanzania. These are far removed from Al-
Shabaab territory

• Few, if any, elephants are present directly within Al-Shabaab’s area of influence in south-
central Somalia and northeastern Kenya. The majority of elephants in Kenya roam at
significant distances from the border

• There is little evidence of large ivory flows transiting Somalia; established Kenyan and
Tanzanian ports remain the primary points for export. This makes the assertion that Al-
Shabaab’s monthly ivory revenues total $200,000–$600,000 highly unlikely

• Estimates of the proportion of Al-Shabaab funds raised from ivory trafficking rely on
flawed sums. A range of other sources (including the taxation of charcoal and sugar) are
more important to the terrorist organisation

• Any Al-Shabaab involvement in the ivory trade to date is likely to have been opportunistic,
ad hoc and small-scale.